Page 53 - The Guide To Sarawak

THE GUIDE TO SARAWAK
51
The administrative quarter of Petra Jaya, Sarawak’s mini-Putrajaya. Wisma Bapa Malaysia, on the left, houses the Chief Minister’s Department and various ministries. The former State Assembly Building (centre) is now a venue for prestige events and concerts.
Schedule to the Federal Constitution. Generally,
the State of Sarawak
has additional sources
of revenues, as provided
in Part V of the Tenth Schedule to the Federal Constitution. These include royalty from timber and timber products, royalty from minerals, including mineral oils, import and excise duties on petroleum products and State Sales Tax, fees and dues from ports and harbours other than federal ports in Sarawak, receipts from water supplies, including water rates levied on water used for hydro power generation. As such, the State has a greater degree of financial autonomy not enjoyed by the States in the Peninsular Malaysia.
Sarawak has 31 seats in the Federal Parliament. Some members of
Parliament from Sarawak are also Ministers or Deputy Ministers in the federal Cabinet. However, the Federal Government has only jurisdiction over subject matters which are listed in the Federal List of the Ninth Schedule in the Federal Constitution.
They include foreign affairs, finance, defence, security, education, Judiciary, trade & industry, medicine and health. There are Federal Departments in the State to administer federal functions and these federal agencies are headed administratively by the Federal Secretary.
This view of Bangunan Baitulmakmur (MASJA) in Petra Jaya shows the Sarawak Government’s commitment to creating a conducive architectural environment for the administration of the state.